Cuttin' the Rug

Hey Team,

Padre Bill the Priest here at ILAC arranged for us to have dance lessons tonight with some of his friends from the neighborhood. We learned different styles of bachata and merengue two of the most popular and traditional dances here in the DR.

I have a bad habit of feeling the need to constantly be perfect at everything- which is the opposite one needs to be doing when dancing. The moves are important but you have to feel the music (like in dirty dancing right?) Once I started just moving, not stressing, I was having a blast. It was great, it was nice to not think and just move and have fun.

One of the aspects about the DR that I like the best is the fact that music and dancing is a part of their culture, it's a tradition that's common to everyone. No matter who you are- you dance. No matter how you were raised, what you do for a living, or how much money you have- you dance. Dance has a beautiful way of connecting everyone. Intrinsically, with the emphasis on dance and music, comes the ability to let go, forget, and relax.

This is something that everyone could learn to do every once in a while. We get rapped up in the rat race. We are concerned with the future so much to the fact that we miss the time that is passing right now. What is the use of stressing all the time? It will only waste the short time you have on this earth.

So, take some time. Let go. Have fun. Relax (Suave, my friends, suave.) Enjoy the dance.

Peace,

Corbin

Language Barriers: Mariposas and Corvettes

Hey Team,

While I was at service last week a child asked my to draw "una mariposa" for him. I looked back at him like an idiot and said "¿Mariposa?" The child kind of smiled and then began to draw.."Ah! A Butterfly!" He smiled when he realized I understood and then continued on whith his craft.

One of the aspects of living in the Dominican Republic that I have been struggling with the most (besides the lack of Diet Coke) is the laguage barrier. Back when I was still taking Spanish, I was decent, by no means fluent and that has been over a year and a half ago. Now I am driving the Spanish struggle bus all day. I'm trying to do extra work on top of my Spanish class so I can at least be communacative. It's frustrating. I want to talk to people but I can't so I feel like I just come off as rude.

The frustration over the language barrier is at it's when I go to service every week. Let me tell you, if you have trouble understanding Spanish just wait until you hear small children speak it. As a general rule children speek quietly and quikly, not a great combo when you are trying to learn a new language. This is especially challenging as culturally Dominicans in general speak more quietly than Americans and the Spanish language is already much quiker than English. To get a grasp on children speaking spanish just image Alvin and the Chipmunks speaking Spanish.

At my service site all I want to do is talk to the kids, ask them about their lives, give them someone who will listen- essentially I want them to know that they are cared about and important. This is not such an easy task to accomplish when you are basically limited to "¿Cuántos anos tienes?" and "¿Comó se llama?" My name can even be a complication as two integral sounds in my name don't really exist in Spanish. When I say my name is "Corbin" I get all sorts of crazy looks- the other day I got called Corvette (like the car).

On Wednesday of last week I was watching a child color a horse in a coloring book. I was racking my brain trying to figure out something to say to him. All I could think was how wierd I must come off right now, just sitting here watching the kids color. The boy I was siting next to leaned against me while he continued to color. At that moment I realized that language isn't always necessary to send a message. Presence is important and is not dependent on language, a smile or a hug can mean a lot.

Maybe language evens get in the way of being fully present sometimes. We think about what to say, but we don't listen; we are off in our own thoughts and not paying attention to the real human beings in front of us.

Peace,

Corbin

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Hey Team,

I've now been in the DR for a little over two weeks and am settling into a regular routine. We had a orientation week so we just started our "normal" schedule last Monday.

In the last two weeks I have:

• ridden many a guagua (a public bus that comfortably fits about ten people, however the owners pack as many people as feasibly possible, I counted twenty-five the last time, and ride around with the door open)
• visited Sousa, a beautiful but incredibly touristy beach in the North
• visited Cien Fuegos, the urban slum in Santiago
• discovered that in the DR Diet Coke exists in the form of Coca-Cola Light-it's not the same but it will have to do
• Spent some time at my service site for the semester, Caritas in Licey, a feeding program for children before they go to school
• Plus more...

I have learned:

• Corbin doesn't translate into Spanish so I should just be prepared to have people mispronounce my name (My favorite was when I was called Corvette- like the car)
• In the Dominican Republic, traffic laws are just suggestions
• In the Dominican Republic, it kind of is a fashion show
• A little (I still have a lot to see and experience) about life in the Dominican Republic, good and bad
• How infinitely blessed I am back in the United States to have a home, food to eat, access to education, and loving friends and family
• Plus more...

A lot has gone down in the last two weeks, but what sticks out the most to me about the DR is the huge gap between wealth and poverty here.  One can see a tin home next to a large home with several cars parked in the front, a child with no shoes standing on the street as a BMW drives by. It's shocking to see such poverty next to such wealth. It is even more shocking to realize that this discrepancy carries to all parts of the world. For instance, there are great excesses of wealth in the United States. Many people drive nice cars and have nice homes; however, many people go without in America and throughout the world. Perhaps we just don't take notice as much because the discrepancy is not in your face: the rich and the poor standing right next to each other. Take this next week as a challenge to look at your city/ community in a different light. When you see a child with loving parents and warm clothes try to image a child in a third world country with no parents and limited access to what they need. See an opposite reality because it is indeed a REALITY of this world.

Oh! Well, Hey there...

Hey Team,

I see that you've stumbled upon my corner of the internet. I have a corner of the internet because I'm going to the Dominican Republic (DR) to study and do service for four months. I thought I would write my thoughts and experiences down for all the world (read: probably just my mom, Hi mom!) to see.

While I'm down in the DR I hope to be challenged in a way that leads me to ask tough questions about my life and the world around me. I probably won't have any answers or great insights but I feel some questions don't necessarily have answers; the best one can hope to do is ask the right questions. I'm not exactly sure what will happen or how I will be effected, but that's the fun isn't it?

That being said... "Let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure."-Albus Dumbledore (JK Rowling)